Military art is based on the continuity of fundamental, in a practical and symbolic sense, military, educational and political relations, which in the long run determine the ethos present in the space of military tradition, specifically European, including Polish. As the author shows, they often refer to the idea of patriotism and other basic cultural values of Europe. Understanding them affects the perception of the role of the army, especially the officer cadre, in the area of state security identified by tradition and its symbolic premises. Therefore, the author analyzes the most important models of patriotism for the military ethos: Homeric, Spartan, medieval and knightly Polish patriotism, pointing to their fundamental role in shaping the contemporary military tradition.